Glossary and Acronyms

Architecture Building Block

Architecture Development Method

To move/change quickly and easily, often to provide value-generating outcomes.

A member of an Agile Product team responsible for defining user stories and prioritizing the backlog, ensuring these are understood by other team members while maintaining the conceptual integrity of the features or components for the Delivery team. In the TOGAF framework, product has a wider context, but is used here in the Agile product context.

Application Programming Interface

A description of the structure and interaction of the applications as groups of capabilities that provide key business functions and manage the data assets.

A constituent of the architecture model that describes a single aspect of the overall model.

A part of the Enterprise Continuum. A repository of architectural elements with increasing detail and specialization.

The core of the TOGAF framework. A multi-phase, iterative approach to develop and use an Enterprise Architecture to shape and govern business transformation and implementation projects.

A conceptual structure used to plan, develop, implement, govern, and sustain an architecture.

The architectural representation of assets in use, or planned, by the enterprise at particular points in time.

A qualitative statement of intent that should be met by the architecture.

An endeavor undertaken to define and describe the Enterprise Architecture to be implemented. In TOGAF terms, it encompasses all activities undertaken within the ADM Phases A to F, and Requirements Management for these phases. Practically, it can be a stand-alone project or part of a larger effort (e.g., a program).

A representation of a system from the perspective of a related set of concerns.

A specification of the conventions for a particular kind of architecture view.

An architectural work product that describes an aspect of the architecture.

An ever-evolving list of requirements, prioritized by the stakeholders, that conveys to an Agile team which requirements to handle first. Business change design and development typically employ a top-level backlog, known as a business change backlog, and each Agile team working on a sprint typically creates a backlog for each sprint, known as a sprint backlog.

A specification that has been formally reviewed and agreed upon, that thereafter serves as the basis for further development or change and that can be changed only through formal change control procedures or a type of procedure such as configuration management.

Big Design Up Front

A representation of holistic, multi-dimensional business views of: capabilities, end-to-end value delivery, information, and organizational structure; and the relationships among these business views and strategies, products, policies, initiatives, and stakeholders.

An ability that an organization, person, or system possesses.

A highly detailed description of the architectural approach to realize a particular solution or solution aspect.

A discrete portion of a capability architecture that delivers specific value. When all increments have been completed, the capability has been realized.

Customer Master Data Management

Capability Maturity Model

Critical Success Factor

A description of the structure and interaction of the enterprise’s major types and sources of data, logical data assets, physical data assets, and data management resources.

Digital Business Reference Model

Department of Defense Architecture Framework

Digital Transformation Readiness Assessment

The highest level (typically) of description of an organization and typically covers all missions and functions. An enterprise will often span multiple organizations.

A categorization mechanism for classifying architecture and solution artifacts as they evolve from generic to specific applicability.

Entity Relationship Diagram

Enterprise Risk Management

Generic building blocks, their inter-relationships with other building blocks, combined with the principles and guidelines that provide a foundation on which more specific architectures can be built.

A structure for content or process that can be used as a tool to structure thinking, ensuring consistency and completeness.

A statement of difference between two states. Used in the context of gap analysis, where the difference between the Baseline and Target Architecture is identified.

The discipline of monitoring, managing, and steering a business (or Information Systems/Information Technology (IS/IT) landscape) to deliver the business outcome required.

Government Reference Model

Information Systems/Information Technology

Information Security Management

Key Performance Indicator

A model that describes how and with what the architecture will be described in a structured way.

The minimum (Enterprise) Architecture that is realizable and adds business value. An architecture that enables the delivery of product features with just enough content to be deployed in a given phase of a project and satisfies known requirements (especially quality attribute requirements), and no more.

The minimum set of business change that delivers significant value to the stakeholders.

An output that satisfies a minimum set of functional and non-functional requirements and can be realized when implemented in a live operational environment. The smallest possible outcome that generates acceptable learning, delivery of value to the customer (internal or external), and is a basis for future extension.

The person tasked to develop, maintain, and use an Enterprise Architecture.

An outcome generated by the business to be offered to customers. Products include materials and/or services.

The planning, delegating, monitoring, and control of all aspects of the project, and the motivation of those involved to achieve the project objectives within the expected performance targets for time, cost, quality, scope, benefits, and risks. Market-leading methods include PRINCE2 and PMBOK.

A system that manages all of the data of an enterprise, including data and process models and other enterprise information.

A statement of need that must be met by a particular architecture or work package.

A time-boxed meeting held at the end of a sprint, in which the Sprint team examines its processes to determine what succeeded and what could be improved; key to an Agile team’s ability to “inspect and adapt” in the pursuit of “continuous improvement”.

The management of risks and issues that may threaten the success of the Enterprise Architecture practice and its ability to meet is vision, goals, and objectives, and, importantly, its service provision.

A detailed, formal description of areas within an enterprise, used at the program or portfolio level to organize and align change activity.

A repeatable activity; a discrete behavior that a building block may be requested or otherwise triggered to perform.

Viewing an enterprise, system, or building block in terms of services provided and consumed.

An architectural style that supports service-orientation.

Service-Level Agreement

A description of a discrete and focused business operation or activity and how IS/IT supports that operation.

A candidate solution which conforms to the specification of an Architecture Building Block (ABB).

A part of the Enterprise Continuum. A repository of solution implementation elements with increasing detail and specialization.

A short, time-boxed period, at the very heart of Agile methodologies, when an Agile team works to complete a set amount of work supporting the delivery of a working solution.

An individual, team, organization, or class thereof, having an interest in a system.

Technical Architecture Framework for Information Management

The description of a future state of the architecture being developed for an organization.

A structure which allows the components of an information system to be described in a consistent manner.

A description of the structure and interaction of the technology services, and logical and physical technology components.

A formal description of one state of the architecture at an architecturally significant point in time.

A representation of an end-to-end collection of value-adding activities that create an overall result for a customer, stakeholder, or end user.

See Architecture View.

See Architecture Viewpoint.

A set of actions identified to achieve one or more objectives for the business. A work package can be a part of a project, a complete project, or a program.